May 21, 2013

Sat Nav Review: Nokia Drive

Nokia Lumia 800 with Nokia Drive sat nav software

Nokia may not be the first brand that comes to mind when you think of sat navs, but it has actually been producing mapping and navigation apps for phones for many years. Nokia Drive's predecessor was the oddly named but well regardedĀ Ovi Maps. The reason this is important is that if you buy … [Read more...]

Sat Nav Review: TomTom Via 135 UK & Ireland

TomTom Via 135 sat nav

TomTom is one of the biggest names in sat nav and in my experience, one of the best. Against this backdrop, I was very pleased to have the chance recently to try out one of the company's new TomTom Via 135 units, which includes TomTom's Speak & Go voice control system, which I haven't used … [Read more...]

Pregnancy Seat Belt Designed To Protect Your Bump

piXie Pregnancy Seatbelt Harness - fastening buckle

A new type of seat belt has been launched for pregnant women. The piXie Pregnancy Seatbelt Harness is a portable seatbelt that takes the diagonal strap of a standard car seat belt completely away from your bump. The device is attached to the standard seat belt from behind and worn across the … [Read more...]

When Four Cylinders Is Too Many, Switch Two Off & Save Fuel

'Not firing on all cylinders' is usually an expression used to describe something that is not working as well as it should. However, in the case of Volkswagen's forthcoming 1.4TSI petrol engine, it will actually be a fuel-saving feature of the engine. When torque is not required, two of the … [Read more...]

Driver Assistance Systems: Who’s Driving, You Or Your Car?

It has been obvious for years that in many situations, cars could more safely be piloted by computers than by humans. In fact, the technology already exists, but lacks standardisation and regulatory acceptance. If we compare the situation to passenger aeroplanes, autopilots have, for decades, quite … [Read more...]

Renault Achieves 20% CO2 Reduction With New Energy dCi 130 Engine

Update 19/05/2011: The new 1.6dCi 130 engine is now available in the Megane and Megane Scenic, in which models it is being used to replace the old 1.9dCi 130 engine, providing a graphic illustration of how effectively car manufacturers are reducing engine capacity without sacrificing … [Read more...]

Daytime Running Lights Now Compulsory On New Cars

Daytime running lights, as fitted to the Audi A6

You may have noticed that for a while now, certain new cars - like Audis - have featured eyebrow-shaped rows of bright LED lights below their headlamps. These rather odd-looking rows of lights are not a trendy new form of sidelight - they are Daytime Running Lights (DRLs). As you might guess, … [Read more...]

Sat Nav Live Traffic Data – How Does It Work?

Navigon Traffic Live - a diagram showing how the system works

One of the most popular and powerful features on today's GPS satellite navigation devices is live traffic data. Many sat navs can now receive live traffic data about congestion on your route and reroute you onto a less congested and faster route. Although TMC traffic announcements on FM radio … [Read more...]